The survival of all babies is becoming increasingly important for health care providers in the Caribbean and Latin America, especially in light of rapidly declining fertility rates in the region.
Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO) representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Dr Merle Lewis, said that the number of new births in the Caribbean was not keeping pace with the number of deaths.
She said that the total fertility rate in Barbados for 2011 was 1.68 children per woman, and several other Caribbean countries registered similar numbers, indicating that some countries were below the fertility replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman, thereby affecting the broad population stability.
Lewis was speaking at the PAHO/WHO evaluation workshop on the Regional Strategy And Action Plan For Neonatal Health at the Accra Hotel last Tuesday. (LK)
